Nicola Sturgeon’s independence dreams up in smoke as Scotland falls £15bn in the red after oil slump
NICOLA Sturgeon’s dream of Scottish independence lay in tatters yesterday as grim figures revealed Scotland’s deficit has hit £15 billion – with oil revenues plunging by a staggering 97 per cent.
A global slump in oil prices saw North Sea oil revenues fall to a paltry £60 million last year compared to £1.8bn in 2014-15, official figures revealed yesterday.
Scotland’s deficit is now 9.5 per cent of GDP, more than double the UK’s four per cent.
The country's finances are the worst in Europe, further in the red even than Greece (7.2 per cent).
But despite being £14.8bn in debt, Scotland still spent £1,200 per head more on public services than the UK average.
Yesterday Scottish Secretary David Mundell said the figures proved Scotland was better off inside the UK.
He said: “These figures show how being part of the UK protects living standards in Scotland.
“Scotland weathered a dramatic slump in oil revenues last year because we are part of a United Kingdom that has at its heart a system for pooling and sharing resources across the country as a whole.
“The fact public spending was £1,200 per head higher in Scotland than the UK as a whole also demonstrates that the United Kingdom, not the European Union, is the vital union for Scotland’s prosperity.”
Scots Tory leader Ruth Davidson added: “These figures smash a coach and horses through Nicola Sturgeon’s independence plan.
“In return for wrecking the most successful union of nations in history, they make it clear she would be forced to hand every family in Scotland a sky-high bill for the privilege.
“It is yet another reminder that all of us across the United Kingdom stand stronger and more secure when we stand together. Let’s not let the SNP rip that apart.”
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Questioned over the whopping black hole in the nation’s finances yesterday, Nicola Sturgeon refused to admit Scotland was better off as part of the UK – insisting the impact of Brexit threatened the country’s long term success.
Asked if Scotland was being propped up by taxpayers elsewhere in Britain, Scotland’s First Minister said:
“No. If you look over the past five years, the revenue contributed by head of population in Scotland compared to the rest of the UK has been higher cumulatively across that five-year period.
“So the idea that Scotland doesn’t contribute fully and fairly to the UK coffers is one that, no, I don’t accept.
“The idea that Scotland is somehow subsidised by taxpayers elsewhere in the UK - no, I don’t accept that’s the case.”
The figures published yesterday were the first to take into account the slump in North Sea oil revenues over a full year.
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said the figures were a “reality check” for those wanting a second independence referendum.